Shortening having an extended plastic range



' seed oil with hydrogenated to Patented Nov. 11, 1947 snoR'rENINGHAVING AN nxrsnnnn PLASTIC RANGE Norbert w. Ziels, Leonia, and Werner K.seminar, Grantwood, N. J., assignors to Lever Brothers Company, MaineCambridge, Mass., a corporation of No Drawinsf Application time o, 1944,

Serial No. 539,604i

2 Claims. (Cl. 99-122) This invention relates to a plastic edibleshortening and method of manufacturing the same.

More particularly the invention relates to a plastic shortening of theso-called "compound type which possesses desirable consistency andhardness properties over an extremely wide ,rangeof temperatures. L

Two types of shortenings are conventionally manufactured. One type isthe so-called allhydrogenated '-type, which is made by refining oils andhydrogenating to increase their consistency. During themanufacture ofthis type of shortening the oils or fats are maintained in a liquidstate and at a suitable point in the process, oils and fats havingdifferent characteristics are mixed and blended.

It has been proposed heretoforeto include a small portionofa hard fat inorder to increase the plasticrange of this so-called all-hydrogenated"shortening. But since our invention. does not relate tothis type ofshortening, fur-' ther discussion of the prior art of this nature is notnecessary to an understanding of the improvement which constitutes thepresent invention.

The other type of shortening is the so-called .compound type, in themanufacture of which it is customary to refine edible oils, such asnaturally-occurring vegetable oils, and without hydrogenating orhardening'the same, to mix or blend these oils in their liquid statewith a melted normally solid fat to yield a final semi-solid producthaving the desirable characteristics. The normally solid fat used inblending with the-oil is usually obtained by hydrogenatlng 'a vegetableoil until it is solid at normal temperature. The amount used isufiicient to give the final product a semi-solid consistency at thedesired temperatures. This blending operation is carried out at anelevated temperature at which the normally solid fat melts and isliquid, following which the mixture is chilled to a semi-solid plasticState, and air' or an inert gas may be incorporated in a fine state ofsubdivision in order to give the shortening a white appearance and acreamy smooth texture.

A typical example of such a shortening, in accordance with thelong-establishedprior art, is made by mixing 85% of unhydrogenatedcottonof cottonseed oil which had been an iodine value of about and atiter of about 55 C. The blend is then processed in the usual manner toform a semi-solid product.

Patent No. 2,304,452 describes an improvement 2, genating sesame oil toan iodine value of about 1 or 2. In accordance with this patent, anincreased plastic range is obtained in the final product, that is, theshortening will. retain its plastic characteristics over. a widertemperature range. In other words, the shortening does not become toohard or solid to be workable at low temperatures, and

does not melt or become too soft at high temperatures. This patentcontains an extended discussion of the action of shortening in bakedproducts, the "shortening power of the shortening;

as Well as a discussion of the desirability of a shortening having awide plastic range. Reference may be had thereto for a consideration ofthese factors.

This plasticity characteristic in a compound type shortening wasobtained in accordance with Patent No. 2,304,452,,over the range oftemperatures normally encountered in the household, namely, atemperature ran e of about 50 to 83 F. Temperatures below and above thisrange are not ordinarily encountered in the home where such products areto be used. Products having the desired plasticity over this limitedtemperature range were made, in accordance with. the

patent, by employing from 5 to 20%, preferably 9 to 15% of an unusuallyhard fat having a titer of 65 C. or above in admixture with an unhy-'drogenated oil to produce a shortening of the so-called "compound type.

While the method of Patent No. 2,304,452 is admirable in the making ofshortenings which have an enhanced plasticity range over a mediantemperature range, the method of the patent leaves something to bedesired in the production of a shortening which will retain itsplasticity over a much broader range; for example, temperatures as lowas 35 F., which might be encountered in bakeries in very cold climates,such as Iceland, as well as temperatures as high as 120 E". which areencountered in bakeries inthe tropics.

It is possible to prepare shortenings by prior art methods which areplastic at temperatures as high as 120 F., but such shortenings becomeso hard as to be unworkable at temperatures as low as 35 F. Theproduction of a shortening which will retain a workable plasticity overa temperature range varying from, 35 to 120 F. has not been produced norproposed in accordance with the prior art.

As indicative of the results that may be obtained using a hard fathaving a titer of C. or above, in an amount of 20% (which is theupperlimit of the range referred to in Patent No. 2,304,452), the data in thefollowing table may be considered:

Table I am Penetration solid Fat (Hydrogenated on Liquid Oil and Amount35 F. 70 F. 90 F 121 F.

- i] Amount 1. V. Titer 7 Per cent C. V

Soybean80% Sesame 20 2.2 ,65.8 285 N 295 T00 50 Do Sunflower... 20 2. 065- 8 370 380 378 Do. Do Boy 20 1-9 85. 3 235 300 Too Soit. Do.

Cottonseed 80% .do 20 L 9 65- 3 150 215 249 Do.

Peanut 80% do 20 1-9 65- 3 185 290 Do,

From the above table it will be seen that when brief is to measure thepenetration of a standard is too soft at higher temperatures toiunctionas a shortening.

In order that a fat may have a measurable penetration at a temperatureof 120 F., it is necessary to use or more of the hard fats' having atiter of 65C. or more of the type re- 25 ferred to in the table.

In all of the above instances the hard fat having a, titer of 65 C. orabove is formed by hydrogenating an oil which naturally contains a largeamount of glycerides of Cm fatty acids, e. g.

stearic, oleic, linoleic, etc. When hydrogenated, the oleic and linoleicacids are converted into stearic acid so that substantially all of thehard fat is composed of stearin. Oils which contain a substantialproportion of fatty acids having less than 18 carbon atoms do not have atiter as high as 65' C. even-when fully hydrogenated, as is pointed outin Patent No. 2,304,452.

In the above table the penetration is a measa harder consistency. Ingeneral, a penetration cannot be lower than 100, at the lowesttemperature at which the shortening is to be used. The higherpenetrations indicate a softer consistency and in general'it isdesirable that the shortenshortening is too soft, it is also unsuitablefor I creaming and other culinary operations.

Although various methods have been proposed for measuring the plasticityor consistency of the shortening, the so-called penetration test isrecognized in the art as a reasonably satisfactory test. This isanalogous to the "Brinell hardneedle" in a sample of shortening underuniform tem erature and other conditions. The depth of thepenetration'of the needle into the shortening is usually expressed inarbitrary units. The farther the needle penetrates the shortening thehigher is the penetration figure and the softer the shortening.Reference may be had to an arone by A, D. Rich entitled Methods employedin expressing the consistency of plasticlzed shortenings appearing inOil 8; Soap, vol. XIX, No. 3, March, 1942, pp. 54-57, for more-completedetails as to this property of shprtenings and its measurement, and theinstrumentvused is as described in this article except that the conicalshaped needle is made of aluminum and weighs 47 grams. p

In making the penetration determination the shortening is kept at theindicated temperature :1" F. for at least twenty-four hours beforetaking the reading. The surface of the shortening is scraped smooth andthe tip of the penetrometer needle is lowered so that it just touchesthe smooth surface of the shortening. The penetrometer recording shaftis then lowered to conw of the plast t t rfi ur s in i at 4o tact theend of the needle spindle. The penetrometer dial is then turned to thezero position without disturbing the positions of the needle spindle orthe recording shaft. The needle is thenelevated equivalent to exactly200 divisions on the indicator, and the needle is then released quicklyby pressing the knob on the penetrometer for this purpose. The needlefalls and sinks into the shortening a given distance depending upon beobtained, for example, by fully hydrogenating cottonseed oil and oilshaving similar characteristics. As indicative of the results that may beobtained in accordance with our invention, the

ness test applied to metals. The test method in following dataissetforth:

' Table II Stock Penetration I am on d Solid Fat (Hydrogenated Oil) Llqan 0 o Amount 35 R 15290 F. F.

Oil Amount LV. Titer Gttonsead 18 o 'z 132 150 188 280 s dtiifiiitfiim-"10...." 20 1.8 62 115 139 187 m2 Pentium.-. do 20 1,8 62 100 194 300'aesacoe ening is obtained which has desirable plastic propacid and thebalance. primarily stearic acid. This mixture is thought to haveproperties in the nature of a eutectic which upon hardening in theshortening forms a crystalline structure which is tonseed oils containroughly about 20% palmitic erties over the wide temperature range of 35to retained to a maximum extent over a wide tem- 120 F. perature range.v

As will be seen, the penetrations vary slightly In order to confirmthis, a shortening was prewith the liquid oil component of the stock,but in pared in which the hard fat, instead of being all instances thepenetrations fall within a desirfully hydrogenated cottonseed oil, wasprepared able range at all of the temperatures. Thus the 10synthetically from a mixture of pure tristearin invention is relativelyindependent of the oil andpllre tripaimitin. The results are! Table IIIStock Penetration Solid Fat Liquid Oil and amount 35 F. 70F. 90 F. 120r.

Fat Amount I;V. Titer Per cent C.

Soybean 80% Tristearin 0.7 66.3 200 232 260 Too soft.

Trlpalmitin 20 0.9 01.2 vr90 295 340 Do.

Do.. {gfg g x 0.15 01.0 185 195 204 380.

' used as the base stock. The variations may be From the above table itwill be seen that the use readily explained because of the difierentconof a mixture oi? tripalmitin and tristearin in stituents in theliquid oil itself. roughly the same proportions as occur in fully Theamount of the hard fat to be used in achydrogenated cottonseed oilproduces a shortencordance with the invention may vary somewhat. ingwhich retains its plasticity at 120 F. In con- In e a the amount shouldnot be less than trast to this, the use of 20% tristearin, although Willive a product hav g a m as ble p e this is a harder fat than the mixtureof tristearin. t n a and Preferably o having & p h and tripalmitin,produces a shortening which tration of not over 350 at this temperature.In is too soft at 120 F. The result cannot be ate n ra t e am u t s u dbe n t more than wi l tributed solely to the presence of the tripalmitinyield a penetration of less than 100 at the lowest ince the use of 20%of this fat also gives a prodte pe t a w ic t e s ortenin is to be used.not that is too soft at 120 F. The new result is 8-. In general, e amout of t e ha indeed surprising, since it has been the view of fat will befrom about 17 to 23%. The extent to t prior art t t use of a harder fatin wh ch the o on Seed Oil is ydrogenated, pounding the shortening wouldproduce a shortportant and the I. V. should be brought down to 40 eninghich would retain its plasticity at a a point where the titer will beabove 60 C. higher temperature n co side i o r i ve n a d the resultsOur new shortening not only has desirable obtained, we have concludedthat our novel shortproperties as to plasticity, but since it achieveseni can e tain us ng fully hydrog na d this by using a lesser amount ofthe hardfat cottonseed oil, but cannot be obtained using fully a well asa, hard fat having a, lower titer, the hyd o ed Sesame S y ThiS can newshortening should have superior propertie be attributed to the fact thatcottonseed Oil conwith reference to digestibility. Our new shortentainsa su st t a p po o yc s 0f ing also has a lower melting point thanshortenpalmitic acid. The fatty acids in cottonseed oil ings having thesame plasticity and made with vary as follows: greater percentages ofstearines having a higher Myristic Palmitic Stearic Arachidic OleicLinoleic The invention is not limited, the use of drogenated cotton seedoil but can be used with Percent Percent Percent Per cent PercentPercent either natural or artificially prepared hard fats 3.3 19.9 1.30-6 6 which contain palmitic acid and stearic acid 53 $313 within thedesired ranges. For example, beef fat 0.5 21.9 1.9 0-1 80,7 containsfrom 18 to 32% palmitic acid, 2 to 7% 234 myristic acid and thebalanceare Cm fatty acids,

\ stearlc, oleic and linoleic. When this material When the cottonseedoil is hydrogenated so that is d enated. it would give a product comprisubstantially all of the oleic and linoleic acids are ing primarilyglycerides of pahnitic and t m;

converted into stearic acid, the hydrogenated cotacids within thenecessary proportions. In gem tonseed oil would have substantiallythe-followera], the hard fat that is used in accordance mg composition:with the invention should contain glycerides' of I fatty acids. Thefatty acids should comprise 15 Myristic Palmitic Stearic Arachidic OlcicLinoleic to acid; not more than l 1 v acids other than palmitic orstearic acids, such igs 2 w as myristic, oleic or linoleic acids, etc.;and the :0 :6 v balance stearic acid. a

8:2 32;: 2 jjjjjj jjjjj It will be obvious, in accordance with ourinvention, that the hard fat can be prepared synthetically, or byhydrogenating naturally-occur- Thus it will be seen that fullyhydrogenated cotring Oils, f they produce a hard fat having the requiredcomposition. It will also be obvious that the invention can be usedemploying many liquid oils for compounding shortening and that the.

proportions may vary within the ranges expressed herein. The, manner ofpreparing the materials, blending, chilling, texturizing andpackagingthe shortening may be in accordance with any method knownheretofore in the art and we do not intend our invention to be limitedexcept by th scope of the following claims. i

We claim:

1. An all-climate plastic shortening having desirable plasticitycharacteristics over an extremely wide temperature range, in which theshortening ingredients consist of an edible liquid glyceride oil blendedwith from about 17 toabout 23% of a hard glyceride fat formed ofglycerides of fatty acids, the fatty acid constituent of which compriseat least 92% of "palmitic and stearic acids or which the palmitic acidcomprises to said shortening having a penetration within the range of100 to 400 over a temperature range of to 120 F.

5 -glycerlde oil blended with from about 17 to about 23% orcottonseed-oil hydrogenated-to a titer 01 over C. and less than C., toimpart to the shortening a penetration within the range 0! to 400 over atemperature range of 35 to F.

10 NORBERT 'w; ZIELS.

WERNER-H. SCHMIDT- I REFERENCES CITED The following references are ofrecord in the 15 file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,304,452 Gudheim Dec." 8, 1942Gudheim Sept. 26, 1939

